1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a computer program product.
2. Description of the Related Art
A system is known in which an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) is connected to a printer such as a multifunction peripheral (MFP), where the printer performs printing under the control of the information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus controls the printer by executing a program such as a printer driver. The printer driver has a plug-in mechanism including a core portion and a plug-in portion, enabling addition or deletion of functions by adding or deleting plug-ins after installation.
The printer driver has a function for hooking a process at a predetermined timing during a print sequence, such as at the start of a printing process, the start or end of document printing, or the start or end of page printing. For example, in Windows (registered trademark), which is an operation system (OS) developed by Microsoft Corporation of the USA, the hooking function is provided as a function called “DocumentEvent”. However, in the conventional printer driver, a process related to “DocumentEvent” that hooks a process at a predetermined timing is performed only in the core portion. Therefore, when there is a change or a difference in the process related to “DocumentEvent”, it is necessary to re-develop not only the plug-in portion but also the core portion, resulting in an increase in development burden.
Examples of the related art include Japanese Patent No. 3745344 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-171579.
Therefore, there is a need for an information processing apparatus capable of restraining development cost.